Will you love and lead the family God has given you, even if it’s not the one you envisioned? “Had I known that she would be like this, I would have not signed up for a lifetime. Had I known that the kids would be like this, I would not have signed up for a lifetime. Had I known that they would get sick, or I would get sick, had I known what their extended family would be like, had I known the sins in their past that have haunted us in the present, had I known that they would betray me in this way or fail me in this way, I never would have signed up for a lifetime of this.”

And Joseph says, “That’s fine. It’s going to be hard, but I trust the Lord, and his vision for my family is my vision for my family.” And let me say this—let me say this to you men. I feel inclined to the Holy Spirit to press this point home. If God should give some of you men a difficult family, it’s not a burden, it’s an honor because God has entrusted to you a great responsibility for the woman and children that he loves very dearly. And perhaps he didn’t give it to another man because he wasn’t sure that his daughter would be loved well and that his children would be raised well.

It applies as well to women as to men and I wanted to share it with those of my readers who are struggling with really difficult family situations.